Bernie would have been an excellent president, but he’s always been pragmatic rather than opportunistic. He advocates for the same progressive policies he always has, but he also knows Harris needs to win. Democrats don’t need to be pulled left, they need to be pushed forward. That’s how we win, and that’s how America and humanity will survive.
I’m sure you have a litmus test for being a progressive. I’m glad Bernie seems to meet it, however, I doubt he could achieve half the legislation Biden signed.
There’s no point in playing “what if” when nobody knows what could have been.
But Biden is progressive in the same way gray is white because it isn’t black. Passing legislation isn’t the measure of progress, especially when that list of legilsation includes shit like DOMA and the Crime Bill. I’m happy he’s evolved on both issues, but he’s had a long career of being on the wrong side of progress.
Biden’s age was never my problem with him. His failing health and inability to articulate a point are a legitimate concern, but I felt like he should have resigned long ago to give Harris a chance to establish herself and run as an incumbent. That would have shown confidence in her as a candidate. We should all be so lucky to be as healthy as he is at his age, but it was clear 4 years ago that he was not fully present mentally.
What is maddening is that we could have had 2 years of Kamala demonstrating that she will be a good president. We could have had a full primary for Kamala to be tested, or to have a better challenger emerge from the crowd. Biden chose to remain on the job, and start a race he couldn’t finish. It makes me think he didn’t have confidence in Harris to prove herself, to stand up to a legitimate primary, or to catch the torch he wants to pass to her.
There are some advantages she has now. She can run on Biden’s accomplishments, but deflect any criticisms by saying she will do things differently. She can flip the script on the age argument. Any DNC party insiders who opposed her for misogynist or bigoted reasons have to swallow their tongues and fuck off, which is always good for the party (provided she wins - God help us if she loses, those fuckers will be insufferable). She doesn’t have to actually win a primary against democrats with better policies or more charisma, of which there are several.
So I’m optimistic she can put up a good fight. She has a shit ton of work to do in not very much time, but she should have plenty of money and plenty of support from Biden. I hope she gets elected, but then we start pushing her forward again.
Bernie would have been an excellent president, but he’s always been pragmatic rather than opportunistic. He advocates for the same progressive policies he always has, but he also knows Harris needs to win. Democrats don’t need to be pulled left, they need to be pushed forward. That’s how we win, and that’s how America and humanity will survive.
Bernie is older than Biden.
I’m sure you have a litmus test for being a progressive. I’m glad Bernie seems to meet it, however, I doubt he could achieve half the legislation Biden signed.
There’s no point in playing “what if” when nobody knows what could have been.
But Biden is progressive in the same way gray is white because it isn’t black. Passing legislation isn’t the measure of progress, especially when that list of legilsation includes shit like DOMA and the Crime Bill. I’m happy he’s evolved on both issues, but he’s had a long career of being on the wrong side of progress.
Biden’s age was never my problem with him. His failing health and inability to articulate a point are a legitimate concern, but I felt like he should have resigned long ago to give Harris a chance to establish herself and run as an incumbent. That would have shown confidence in her as a candidate. We should all be so lucky to be as healthy as he is at his age, but it was clear 4 years ago that he was not fully present mentally.
What is maddening is that we could have had 2 years of Kamala demonstrating that she will be a good president. We could have had a full primary for Kamala to be tested, or to have a better challenger emerge from the crowd. Biden chose to remain on the job, and start a race he couldn’t finish. It makes me think he didn’t have confidence in Harris to prove herself, to stand up to a legitimate primary, or to catch the torch he wants to pass to her.
There are some advantages she has now. She can run on Biden’s accomplishments, but deflect any criticisms by saying she will do things differently. She can flip the script on the age argument. Any DNC party insiders who opposed her for misogynist or bigoted reasons have to swallow their tongues and fuck off, which is always good for the party (provided she wins - God help us if she loses, those fuckers will be insufferable). She doesn’t have to actually win a primary against democrats with better policies or more charisma, of which there are several.
So I’m optimistic she can put up a good fight. She has a shit ton of work to do in not very much time, but she should have plenty of money and plenty of support from Biden. I hope she gets elected, but then we start pushing her forward again.
It most certainly is.
So DOMA was progress?
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act The American Rescue Plan Act The Inflation Reduction Act (Climate Change] The CHIPS Act And many more